you'd be home (if my heart was a house)
by loved in shades of wrong
Summary: AU Future Fic: Rachel's had a long day in rehearsals. But when she comes home to her family, there is nothing she wants more than to make the day just a little bit longer so that she can bathe in the adoring and lively ambience of her home. A glimpse of the nightly routine in the Puckerman household.


Author's Note: I'm slightly appalled by one guest's review in 'listen to the music of the moment' (check it out if you want! It's the same 'verse as this story). Jimmy Jam is a cute nickname!

Also I had to research about two and five year olds because I know nothing about child development, and then I got sucked into the blackhole of youtube videos heh, so tip of the day: don't watch baby videos.

* * *

Rachel's had a long day in rehearsals. Her director came in with a fever before leaving halfway into a new scene the writers brought them earlier this morning, then one of the back-up dancers had a lovers quarrel with one of the supporting actors, which delayed everyone's costume fittings, and then another dancer fell and sprained his ankle where he had to go to the hospital (he's fine). That was when the producer finally stepped in and allowed everyone to leave early.

When she comes home to squealing and laughing, she smiles tiredly. Dropping her bag by the door and toeing off her flats, she leans against the archway to the kitchen, and the sight before her flushes the stress of the day away from her mind. Noah's at the stove, stirring something in a pot while Jam is setting the table. Roseanna, their two year old baby daughter, is sitting in her high chair watching her five year old brother intently.

Rachel yawns and covers her mouth, and she guesses the action catches her attention, because Rosie turns her head to the side and squeals, "Ma!"

"Momma!" Jam runs around the table and jumps into her waiting arms, napkins scrunched in his little fists.

"Hi Jam." She kisses his nose and lets him kiss her cheek before letting him go back to setting the table. By the time she reaches Rosie, she's squirming in her chair. Leaning down, she blows a raspberry on her cheek, eliciting a giggle. "Hi baby girl."

"Love Momma," she grins toothily.

"I love you too, Rosie." Giving her a proper kiss, Rachel makes her way to her husband, who has the stove turned off, and is leaning back against the counter, watching her with his arms crossed. "Hey," she sighs, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Hey." He wraps his own arms around her shoulder, using his lips against her forehead to tilt her head back before he ducks his head and kisses her softly. "You're home early."

"Rehearsals was a disaster, so we were let out early."

"Everything okay?" He slides one hand down her back and rubs while the other drives into her hair and massages the back of her scalp, and she moans quietly.

"No." She kisses his chin. "But I'm glad I'm home."

"Dinner's nearly done. Why don't you sit down and I'll pour you a glass'a wine?"

She loves this man. Pecking him one more time, she floats away to take a seat next to Jam, who's showing Rosie how to play a hand game he probably learned at school.

A glass of red wine appears in front of her before she feels a kiss on the crown of her head. She takes a sip and watches her children play together.

When Jam's attempt to teach the hand game prove a failure, with Rosie just clapping her hands together and giggling, he pulls out one of Noah's old guitar picks from his pocket.

"How was school today, Jam?"

He immediately sits straight and brightens up. "It was awesome! Miss. Kelly bringed in a bird today."

"_Brought_," she corrects, smoothing his hair back.

"Miss. Kelly brought in a bird today." He glances at her for approval, and when she nods, he exclaims, delighted, "The bird's name is Kiki and she talks! She said, 'Cracker' and then Alex said, 'What?'" Alexander Graham "Crackers" Pierce Lopez is Santana and Brittany's four year old son, and James' best friend.

"No way."

"_Way_. Then he was embarrassed because Kiki wasn't talking to him; she just wanted a cracker," he giggles.

"Cacka! Cacka!" Rosie yells.

"Shh." Rachel puts a finger to her lips, smiling when Rosie ducks her head and mimics her, quieting down.

"Tell mom about your test today, kid," Noah says as he places down a big bowl of ravioli.

"Oh yeah!" He jumps out of his seat and runs into the living room.

"What did you do today, Rosie?"

"Duckies!" She throws her little arms up in the air. Noah places a smaller bowl of vegan ravioli in front of her before taking a seat opposite Jam's. She begins to reiterate in her baby talk about the little ducklings at the park.

Jam comes back in and proudly presents her a sheet of paper before taking his seat. "I got an A minus on my math test!" Wanting only the best education for their children, they enrolled them in the most highly esteemed elementary school in New York.

She looks down at the paper and sees a big 'A-' on the top of the paper over Jam's scrawly written name. "'Wonderful subtractions, James,'" she reads. "That's fantastic, sweetie! I'm so proud of you."

He throws his palm up over his head. "Up top!"

Laughing, she gives the little guy a high-five and puts the paper safely away from their food on the other end of the table.

She starts scooping ravioli from the bigger bowl onto Jam's plate for him as Noah does the same into Rosie's little Disney princess bowl. She turns to her own food and manages one bite before Jam's tugging on her sleeve. "Can I have some of momma's special food?"

Noah raises an eyebrow at her and she shrugs in reply. They've always encouraged their kids to try new things and have an open mind. "Okay. But just try a little, alright bud?"

She nudges her bowl towards him and lets him stab one. They all watch as he places it into his mouth and chews. He immediately pulls a face, and Noah tries hard not to laugh.

"How is it?" she asks.

He swallows and clicks his tongue against the back of his mouth a few times, as if savouring the taste, and looks up into the corner of his eyes, thinking. "Oh-kay, I guess...?"

"Me too, me too!" Rosie jumps in her seat.

Chuckling, Noah grabs her pink fork and spears the smallest one before handing it to the excited girl. As soon as she bites into it, though, her tiny face scrunches up before she lets it fall out of her mouth.

"_Yakee_."

The table laughs, and Rachel shakes her head, "Definitely daddy's girl."

Noah grins and leans over to give a nuzzling kiss to Rosie's cheek.

Dinner carries on with small talk between her and her husband, while Jam enthusiastically eats his own helpings of ravioli while telling Rosie all about the newest episode of Pokemon, Rosie commenting every now and then whenever he mentions Pikachu.

* * *

After dinner, Noah takes the children up to their shared bathroom for a bath while Rachel clears the table and puts the dishes in the dishwasher.

She had already showered in the theatre's bathroom before she left, so she brushes her teeth and changes into a black tank top and shorts with tiny gold stars as her sleeping attire.

Rosie's playing with the bubbles and her duck in her bath while Jam's in the shower when she joins everyone else in the spacious bathroom. Noah agreed with her that it is important for them to learn to be independent at an early age, so they recently allowed Jam to shower himself - with supervision, of course. It works well because the shower is placed right next to the bath and they can easily keep an eye on him while giving Rosie a bath at the same time.

"You alright in there, Jam?" Noah asks, brushing Rosie's dark curls back from her face as she crashes her authentically incorrect purple duck into a battleship.

"Yeah."

"Don't forget to wash yourself properly."

"I 'member."

She sits herself next to Noah on the ledge that circles the tub, careful of the puddles Rosie made.

Rosie looks up from her duck. "Momma."

"Yes, baby."

"Go school like Jim-Jam."

Rachel glances at Noah, frowning when he immediately shakes his head, and he looks completely ridiculous as he starts makes a slashing motion with his soapy hand, splashing bath water across his clothes.

"I'm done," Jam announces suddenly, and the water abruptly shuts off, the slaps of the faucet reverberating throughout the bathroom.

She gives him a look that tells him it's not over and he replies by rolling his eyes before she gets up to grab Jam's towel. As soon as he gets out, she kneels down and wraps it around him. Is it crazy that she's really proud of him? She doesn't care. "James Nathaniel, you are growing up so fast," she sniffles, squeezing him in her arms.

"Momma!" he complains, squirming in his spot as he drips on the rug.

"I'm sorry. Sorry." She lets go and balances on her toes as she hides her smile behind the palm of her hand.

"Brush your teeth and then put on your pjs," Noah says as he carries Rosie out of the tub and onto his lap where he had placed her towel.

Jam slumps and groans like he's been dreading this. With a suppressed smile, Rachel straightens to her full height as he dries himself as slowly as he can before putting on his robe and stomping over to his sink. "This sucks."

"Don't say that word," Rachel reprimands quickly.

"Why do I have to brush my teeth all the time?" He hands her the toothpaste and she squeezes out a respectable amount onto his wet bristles.

"It's only in the morning and at night - four minute of your life each day, and it's for your hygiene."

"But it's gross and boring. And sometimes it hurts."

She brows crease. "It was the softest bristles that is Iron Man themed."

"Bud," Noah interjects, "sometimes you have to do things you don't want to. That's life."

He pouts over at him. "Life sucks."

"Don't say that word," Rachel repeats.

"You're five," Noah chuckles. "You have no idea. Now stop stalling and brush."

Jam pulls a face at his father before shoving the toothbrush into his mouth.

"I like brushing," Rosie says brightly, dry and in her little pink robe.

"This is all you, Rach." Noah grins as he places Rosie onto the little step stool in front of her sink next to Jam's.

"Hygiene is important," Rachel argues, dabbing a small blob of toothpaste onto Rosie's princess toothbrush.

"Yeah, higee," Rosie remarks. "Sing brushing song!"

"That's for babies," Jam mumbles.

Rosie begins slurring the first few seconds of 'Brushy Brush Your Teeth' and then giggles when Jam sticks his tongue out with his brush dangling from the corner of his mouth and toothpaste on his tongue.

"Momma!" She jumps onto her toes and holds out her toothbrush and bares her teeth.

"No, baby. You can do it. Just like Elmo, remember?" She smiles encouragingly and nudges Noah when Rosie looks over at him.

"Yeah, Rose." He braces himself against the wall between the two sinks. "Big girls can brush their own teeth."

"I'ma big girl," she says, her face scrunched up adamantly before she starts to brush.

Rachel leans back against Noah and he slithers an arm around her middle as they keep an eye on them.

"Water." Rosie tries to reach across the sink for the tap to no avail and starts jumping on her step stool.

"Careful," Noah warns and turns the tap on as Rachel reaches out to grab onto her with one hand and guides her toothbrush under the stream with the other before Rosie resumes brushing.

"You can go; I can do it from here," Rachel says.

"Okay." He ruffles Jam's hair on his way out. "_Brush, brushy, brush. Brushy, brush, brush_," he sings teasingly on his way out, Rosie's giggles and Jam's groans swirling around in the bathroom.

* * *

They had originally set up their children in different rooms, but a few weeks ago, Rosie started having nightmares and was too afraid to sleep alone. Jam had offered to share his room with her, so one weekend Sam came over and helped move her bed and toys into his bedroom across the hall.

She switches on the reading lamp and the baby monitor on top of the bookshelf placed between the two beds before helping Rosie into her starry night pyjamas.

She glances over her shoulder when Jam walks in, where he immediately drops his robe and saunters stark naked to the other side of the room for a fresh set of Scooby Doo pyjamas. She shakes her head and rolls her eyes heavenward.

No shame. Just like his father.

Rachel slides a squirming Rosie under her bed sheets, tucking her in tightly.

"Daddy, check for monsters!" Rosie calls out as quickly as she can when she sees him walk by the room.

He pokes his head in. "Detect a high level of monsters tonight, do you?" he chuckles, obediently crawling on all fours to glance under their beds. "No monsters under here."

"What about in the tree outside the window," Rachel says in a convincing (if she does says so herself) nervous tone.

He pinches her side as he passes her to spy through the curtains. "Nope."

"The closet?" Jam says from under the covers, his eyes peeking over.

Trekking across the room, Noah pulls the closet door open and squints before his eyes dramatically widen and he swallows.

"What? What?" Rosie chants, clutching Rachel's hand.

Noah cautiously reaches in. He gasps as a large blue monster suddenly flies out and lands on Jam's bed, and screams echo in the room before Noah and Jam start laughing.

Blowing out a breath, Rachel puts a hand to her chest in an attempt to slow her heart. Taking a closer look, a plush toy of Sullie smiles goofily back at her.

"Noah, that was incredibly mean."

"Not funny, daddy," Rosie pouts.

"Aw, come on. That was awesome."

Jam throws his hand up. "Up top!"

Rachel crosses her arms as their palms slap loudly.

"These jokes are wasted on you girls," he grouches as he plods away.

"Now that the big bad man is out, what do we want to hear tonight?" She peruses through the books alphabetically lined up in the little bookshelf. Picking up _Disney 365 Bedtime Stories_, she takes a seat in the rocking chair Quinn had given them at her baby shower five years ago.

"Aladdin."

"No, Sleepy Beauty."

"What about 'An Elephant's Lullaby'?" When they both agree, she flips through the worn pages to Dumbo's story. "_Mrs. Jumbo was very sad_..."

She has to say that this is her favourite part of her day. Just sitting here reading, and sometimes singing, her babies to sleep. It's almost humbling that they rely on her voice to soothe them into slumber. When they have bad dreams, they crawl onto the bed she shares with Noah and implore her to sing the bad dreams away in favour of good dreams. Some mornings she wakes in their bed, Rosie clutching her shirt tightly or Jam wrapped around her with their innocent and peaceful faces after a long night of fright.

Her voice gently drifts off as she nears the end of the story and she gauges their state of consciousness from the top of the book. Certain that they're asleep, she quietly places the book back in its rightful place, switches off the reading lamp and creeps to the end of Rosie's bed to turn on her night light. Gently closing the door until just a crack of light filters in, she tiptoes to the master bedroom.

* * *

As soon as the master bedroom door's closed, Noah pokes his head out from the adjoining bathroom, foam in the corner of his mouth and a toothbrush in hand. "She's too young."

She makes herself comfortable on the bed and moves to turn on the baby monitor next to the bed, but Noah must have switched it on after he left Jam's bedroom, so she busies herself by pulling out a bottle of moisturiser from her bedside drawer. "She's two, the prime age for preschool."

He disappears and she hears the tap run and plastic clinking before he reappears in a wife-beater and basketball shorts. "I don't care. She's still a baby."

"The books say that if she's eager to learn new things and explore, or seems ready to be more social, then it's the perfect time for preschool."

"I know," he says dryly as he cracks open the window. "You make me read 'em too. The books also say that she should be potty trained and able to sleep alone. Last I checked, she sleeps in her diaper in Jam's room." He takes the bottle of moisturiser from her before perching himself in front of her.

He's got her there. She's starting to wonder if making him read child development books was a good idea.

"She's a fast learner," she says proudly. "And soon enough she'll be completely potty trained." Squeezing out a blob onto his hand, he rubs them with his other hand to warm the cream, and she hums softly when he gently kneads her calf muscles. "We also agreed that sleeping with Jam is only a temporary thing. I'm worried the reason why she wets the bed is linked to her nightmares. I need to find something about that in the books."

"When that all happens, then she can go to preschool."

"Okay."

"Okay?" he asks sceptically.

"Yes. Just keep doing that," she murmurs.

"Work must've been really rough."

She nods, closing her eyes and sinking deeper into her pillow, consequently bringing her body closer to him.

She feels his hands slide around her ankles and up her legs where he squirts more lotion before he rubs her outer thighs.

She suddenly feels pressure around her wrists and her eyes snap open.

"You fell asleep on me."

"M'sorry. It just feels so good."

"Shit baby, it's barely 9'o clock."

She whines when his warm hands stop touching her to put away the moisturiser and he shuffles away. "Where are you going?"

"I'll let you sleep."

"No."

"Then you wanna talk about it?"

"Talk about what?"

"Work," he chuckles, fingers curling around her shoulders.

She sighs. "Everyone's trying their best, but that's the problem. Their best isn't good enough and the production is a complete disaster."

"I'm sure it's not that bad. Maybe it's just an off day."

"I hope so. Or I'm stuck with incompetent amateurs for the next few years - assuming we get through tech, that is."

"Rach, you're tensing." He pushes against her side and she takes the hit and rolls onto her stomach before he sits astride her and drives his hands under her top.

"Let's talk about something else," she mumbles from the side of her mouth, her right cheek pressed against her pillow. "How was your day?"

"Oh, good. Got loads done." He presses a kiss against the back of her shoulder.

"Don't lie to me, Noah Puckerman."

"Fine. I wrote half a page and then practiced my kick off for the rest of the day. Good news: Sam's gonna lose the next finger football game. Bad news: Detective Baxter still hasn't found the body down in Lake Fanny Hooe." He chuckles. "Fanny Hooe. Still awesome."

A flicker of yellow and navy blue flashes in the doorway. "Roseanna Lynn." She lifts her head and frowns as the girl sheepishly peeks into the room. "What are you doing up?"

"Monster."

She throws Noah a look over her shoulder.

"I get it. My fault, my responsibility."

She nods approvingly, giggling when he slaps her butt as he climbs off her to pick up their daughter.

"But daddy..." Her whine fades as he carries her out of the room.

"Hmm." Her eyes flutter open when she feels a kiss against her cheekbone, and the room's overfilled with darkness.

"Go back to sleep."

"Wasn' sleepin'," she mumbles, blinking her eyes closed.

"Yeah, you were."

"Jus' restin' my eyes."

"Of course." Another kiss is placed on her nose before she snuggles closer into his warm embrace. "Love you."

"Love you too."

* * *

She frowns when there's shuffling and then light shines through her eyelids before there's more shuffling. She still feels exhausted, and for a moment she's confused that it's morning already when she opens her eyes and finds the culprit to be the lamp on Noah's bedside table.

She rolls over and checks the time. _12:04 AM_.

Noah winces as soon as he sees her, laptop in hand. "Sorry."

This isn't the first time Noah is struck with an idea in the middle of the night. In fact, it's almost a weekly habit where he pulls an all nighter. He'd insisted on working on his script in his home office so he doesn't keep her up with his typing, but acquiesced when she'd pouted that she can't sleep properly when he isn't next to her.

He leans against the headboard before booting up his laptop.

She shoves her feet under his knees and pulls the covers over her shoulder, drifting off to the sounds of irregularly rhythmic clicking.

Rachel's had a long day in rehearsals. But when she comes home to her family, there is nothing she wants more than to make the day just a little bit longer so that she can bathe in the adoring and lively ambience of her home.


End file.
